20th Century Fox’s “Family Guy” is getting a Spanish outlet in the US via Univision’s young-skewing TeleFutura network. Also, Hispanic media veterans Luis Fernández-Rocha and Carlos Bardasano have been named senior vice president of TeleFutura and vice president of programming and original productions for TeleFutura, respectively.
In addition to bringing Family Guy to Spanish-language television in the US, TeleFutura will also have a new talk show debuting this spring, hosted by one of Hispanic America’s most beloved television hosts, Charytín.
Fernández-Rocha, who most recently served as senior vice president and regional director of Univision Television Group in the southeast, will oversee all operations of the network. He will report to Luis Fernández, president of Entertainment and Univision Studios. Bardasano, who was previously a managing director at Spanish media management company Kastuera, will be responsible for entertainment programming for the network. He will report to Fernández-Rocha. Both executives will be based in Miami.
“I am pleased to welcome two of the most talented executives in the business to our growing TeleFutura Network. Both Luis and Carlos bring extensive experience with an understanding of the U.S. Hispanic community that will be instrumental in their leadership of the Network and its continued development,” said Fernández. “With such strong track records, I am confident that these are the ideal executives to usher in a new era of programming prominence for TeleFutura, which builds on the momentum of the exciting lineup expansion announcements we made today.”
Fernández-Rocha said, “Having personally witnessed Univision’s strength and the talent of its people, I could not be more honored to take on this leadership role. I look forward to identifying and tapping into the numerous opportunities that lie ahead for the TeleFutura Network as the size and influence of the U.S. Hispanic population continues to rapidly expand.”
“I am thrilled to return to the Univision family and it’s a privilege to join TeleFutura as we continue to deliver the highest-quality and most innovative Spanish television shows in the United States,” said Bardasano. “This is an extraordinary opportunity to develop, produce and program the finest content for our Hispanic community. I look forward to working with the talented team at TeleFutura as we bring the best Spanish television to the nation’s ever-growing Hispanic audience.”
Luis Fernández-Rocha has more than 25 years of experience in Spanish-language broadcasting. He has served as vice president and general manager of WLTV 23 and WAMI 69 since 2002, positioning the stations as leaders in the market and delivering growth. He began his career in 1986 in Miami as traffic manager with Zubi Advertising. Three years later, Fernández-Rocha joined Spanish Broadcasting System affiliate, WCMQ AM/FM Radio. Prior to joining Univision in 2002, he held several positions of increasing responsibility at Telemundo.
Carlos Bardasano has worked in the media and broadcasting industry for over a decade. He most recently served as a managing director at Spanish media management company, Kastuera. Before that, Bardasano was executive vice president of Entertainment for Telemundo. Before joining Telemundo, Bardasano also previously served as vice president of programming development for Univision Television Networks, where he worked developing pilot programs and co-productions for the Company’s networks. Previously, he was vice president of programming for Telemundo.
Family Guy follows the adventures of endearingly ignorant dad Peter Griffin and his hilariously odd family of middle-class New Englanders – wife Lois, daughter Meg, son Chris, baby Stewie and dog Brian – in Quahog, Rhode Island. The animated series, which features the voice talents of Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green and Mila Kunis, is a 20th Century Fox Television production and is distributed by Twentieth Television. Seth MacFarlane is creator/executive producer. Mark Hentemann and Steve Callaghan serve as executive producers/showrunners, while Chris Sheridan, Danny Smith, Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild are executive producers.
